17-year-old Boboye through to last 16 in men’s table tennis tourney
To face Egyptian legend Saleh in Round of 16
Nigerian teenager Samuel Boboye qualified for the Round of 16 at the 2021 ITTF African Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon after defeating Nelson Nji Nsoh in the Round of 32 of his maiden senior tournament.
Boboye, 17, is an SS3 student from Bayelsa State and captain of the Bayelsa State Table Tennis Association. He is the cadet champion of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF). He represented Nigeria at the World Table Tennis Youth Tournament in May 2021. Boboye was named as part of the 12-man Nigerian roster to the 2021 African ITTF Championship alongside experienced campaigners and Olympians like Aruna Quadri, Funke Oshonaike, Olajide Omotayo and Offiong Edem. The 17-year-old is ranked number two in Nigeria at present, and he has lived up to the billing so far at the ITTF tournament.
Samuel Boboye defeated 38-year-old Algerian 19th seed Larbi Bouriah 4-0 (11-7; 11-8; 11-9; 11-5) in the Round of 64 to announce his arrival on the big stage and complete the tournament’s first big upset. He went on to defeat homeboy Nelson Nji Nsoh 4-2 (11-9; 11-13; 11-5; 6-11; 11-6; 11-8) in the Round of 32.
Boboye joins compatriots Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omotayo in the Round of 16 of the men’s event of the competition. The unseeded teenager faces a tough match against experienced 41-year-old Egyptian campaigner Ahmed Saleh in the Round of 16 of the competition.
